This section provides background information to facilitate a better understanding of the various aspects of the disclosure. It should be understood that the statements in this section of this document are to be read in this light, and not as admissions of prior art.
Pneumatic springs, commonly referred to as air springs, have been used for vehicles and various machines and other equipment for a number of years to provide cushioning between movable parts, primarily to absorb shock loads imparted thereon. The air spring usually consists of a flexible rubber sleeve which extends between a pair of end members which contains a supply of compressed air and may have one or more pistons located within the flexible sleeve. The end members mount the air spring on spaced components or parts of the vehicle or equipment on which the air spring is mounted.
The internal pressurized fluid which is generally air, absorbs most of the shock impressed upon or experienced by one of the spaced end members by which the air spring is mounted, with the end members moving axially towards and away from each other upon absorbing the imparted shock.
The air springs often have internal bumpers mounted on one of the end members which extends into the interior of the pressurized chamber. The bumper prevents total collapse or deflection of the spring member in the event of air spring failure, or to absorb shock upon the spring experiencing severe shocks and deflections. Such bumpers often consist of an elastomeric member which was mounted on a stud extending outwardly from one of the end members. Although these elastomeric bumpers are satisfactory for most applications, the bumpers require a lubricant and special equipment to assemble the bumpers on the projecting studs. This results in additional cost for both the lubrication and assembly equipment.
Therefore, the need exists for an improved type of air spring bumper which eliminates the heretofore used elastomeric bumper along with the expensive equipment required for mounting the bumper on its internal supporting stud.